God Is an Astronaut — OriginsFormed: 2002Location: Glen of the Downs, Co. Wicklow, IrelandAlbum release: September 16th, 2013Record Label: Revive RecordsDuration: 62:07Tracks:01 – The Last March 4:4302 – Calistoga 4:3003 – Reverse World 5:1104 – Transmissions 4:0405 – Weightless 4:1306 – Exit Dream 3:3107 – Signal Rays 4:0708 – Autumn Song 3:4809 – Spiral Code 4:1310 – Strange Steps 4:5611 – Red Moon Lagoon 4:4512 – Light Years from Home 5:06Members:Current:•Torsten Kinsella — vocals, guitars, keyboards (2002–present)•Niels Kinsella — bass, guitars, visuals (2002–present)•Jamie Dean — keyboards, synthesiser (2011–present)•Gazz Carr — guitar (2012–present)•Lloyd Hanney — drums (2003–present )Other:•Pat O'Donnell ( Co-writer ) — Guitar (2006–present)•Stephen Whelan ( Session drummer) — drums (2012–present)Former:•Michael Fenton — drums (2011)Discography:•The End of the Beginning (2002)•All Is Violent, All Is Bright (2005)•"A Moment of Stillness" (2006)•Far from Refuge (2007)•God Is an Astronaut (2008)•Age of the Fifth Sun (2010)•Origins (2013)Website:http://superadmusic.com/god/MySpace:https://myspace.com/godisanastronautTwitter:https://twitter.com/giaa_bandTumblr:http://giaaband.tumblr.com/YouTube:http://www.youtube.com/giaaFacebook:https://www.facebook.com/godiaaLast.fm:http://www.last.fm/music/God+Is+An+AstronautSuperadmusic:http://www.superadmusic.com/god/media.htmlAgent: * Beckie Sugden — beckiesugden@theagencygroup.com * Justin Bridgewater (USA) — justinbridgewater@theagencygroup.comREVIEW•Drop date is September 16th, with the 1st single on September 2nd. GiaA are a post rock band who I always think of for their use of piano. And their music I have enjoyed, but it's been a little hit and miss. Their best work or songs are brilliant. I just can't say their percentage for being brilliant is incredibly high. But all their music has definitely been worth checking out, no matter. The 2 videos below are 2 of the best tracks by them. Although "Zodiac" doesn't feature as much piano if I recall, and their record Age of the Fifth Sun and S/T record I remember not including as much as their earlier work. Hopefully Origins will; namely since the name suggests it'll be like their earlier or music from their *origins* (early influences?)•Origins is the seventh full-length album released by God is an Astronaut and sees the band return to Rocket Girl records, who licensed the band’s breakthrough album, All is Violent, All is Bright in 2005. In the eight years since then, GIAA have continued to release albums on their own Revive Records (Far From Refuge, 2007, God is an Astronaut, 2008 and Age of the Fifth Sun, 2010), with limited promotion and yet still amassing a vast following on social media sites (150,000 fans on Facebook, half a million listeners on lastfm.com) and touring extensively, establishing themselves as Ireland’s most intense, incandescent live act.Fortaken:http://allmediareviews.blogspot.nl/Italian review:•Gli irlandesi GOD IS AN ANSTRONAUT fanno parte di una ristretta cerchia di "illuminati" concentrati a far crescere un messaggio/linguaggio sonoro ricercato, che attinge dalle più svariate/dense correnti stilistiche per toccare il cuore di chi ama gustare determinate sfumature esistenziali. "Origins" è il sesto album (strumentale) della band, un lavoro decisivo, che possiede quel fortissimo mood melodico (pulsante/vibrante) scatenato dal dna dei 5 musicisti. Un ritorno caratterizzato da un'inconfondibile feeling toccante.... Già le prime tracce si presentano nel migliore dei modi ("Calistoga" e "Transmission", due dei migliori esempi). Sono sempre stato molto affascinato dal potere delle loro note penetranti e dalle immagini evocate da esse, infatti, questa percezione soggettiva si fa ancora più marcata durante l'ascolto del nuovo cd. I God Is An Astronaut dipingono con pennellate 'decise' (...e forse anche 'decisive') un'altra tela astratta dalle grandi dimensioni, servendosi delle migliori tonalità calde/fredde. Gli opposti si attraggono spesso nell'universo del gruppo e nel dramma di "Origins" tutto il loro sentire si eleva nella sconfinata bellezza. Ci sono tantissime influenze provenienti dai migliori The Cure (soprattutto nella scelta di certe melodie di chitarra), ma per questo aspetto, nessuno potrà giudicarli in maniera negativa. •Appoggio la tesi dei fans che li vedono come una delle migliori creature del post / rock internazionale. Oggi, voglio elogiare, una formazione che davvero ha saputo crearsi un impero personale all'interno della scena. Emozionali! ________________________________________________________________•Comprising a dozen tracks, Origins fluctuates from controlled ferment (‘Calistoga’) to plaintive, piano-led reverie (‘Autumn Song’) to rhapsodic, unapologetically melodic fever (‘Signal Rays’) while never losing its focus. A wide spectrum of emotions are conjured over the course of the album and, while half of the tracks feature vocals, the voices have been laden with resonant swathes of effects so as to retain a similar ambiguity to the instrumentals. It is this ambiguity that lends Origins its power. The song titles are evocative but never prescriptive: for instance, a southern Californian town is suggested in ‘Calistoga’ while the effect-fogged lyrics speak of finding light in a seemingly hopeless situation. Perseverance in times of emotional hardship appears to be the overriding theme of Origins, though it has always been the juxtaposition of seemingly disparate sounds, words and visuals that afford GIAA their singularity. The listener’s interpretation of the music is as valid as the emotions that inspired the band to make it. •Origins is notable also in GIAA’s return to Rocket Girl records, who licensed the band’s breakthrough album, All is Violent, All is Bright in 2005. In the eight years since then, GIAA have continued to release albums and an EP on their own Revive Records (A Moment of Stillness EP, 2006, Far From Refuge, 2007, God is an Astronaut, 2008 and Age of the Fifth Sun, 2010), amassing a vast following on social media sites (150,000 fans on Facebook, half a million listeners on lastfm.com) and touring extensively, establishing themselves as Ireland’s most intense, incandescent live act. •The band was founded in 2002 in Glen of the Downs, Co. Wicklow by twins Niels and Torsten Kinsella, and since then has expanded to include Lloyd Hanney (drums), Jamie Dean (piano/synths) and Gazz Carr (guitar). During the recording of Origins, the band were additionally joined by Pat O’Donnell on vocals, guitar and keyboards, and the album’s more vocal-led, experimental guitar approach is due in no small part to The Fountainhead frontman, who co-wrote many of the songs alongside Torsten. The album also features brass players Donal McGuinness (trombone) and Kevin Foran (trumpet) •Experimenting with ‘a multitude of stompboxes’, the newly bolstered line-up gives the songs an added richness, apparent on Origins perhaps most obviously on the first single, ‘Spiral Code’. The guitars twist and tangle joyously over a backdrop of energetic beats and hi-hats, creating a sound that could just as easily bring feet to a dancefloor as it could bring solace to someone listening in solitude. All in all, Origins is a sublime, multifaceted album, parading a sound which has been painstakingly honed and is as forward-looking as it is faithful to the band’s own origins and influences eleven years back.Fortaken:http://rocketgirl-godisanastronaut.bandcamp.com/Also:•http://newprogreleases.blogspot.mx/2013/07/god-is-astronaut-origins.html________________________________________________________________God is an Astronaut have also confirmed a slew of tour dates in Europe.